Doug has had quite a rough night. After returning to her parent’s house with her school friend Rosie, their guinea pig Boom Boom escapes. Doug runs out of the house to look for his pet and is chased by a zombie-like ‘thing’ from another world before plunging headfirst into an interdimensional portal which is his only way out. He is then told that Earth is doomed due to a force called ‘The End’, that he is one of the only human survivors, and that he is now a resident of Galaxiland, a collective of alien species living on a network of planets designed to keep humans happy.
As I said, it was a rough evening for Doug, but a good introduction to Beyond Galaxyland. A modern RPG with the charm of a classic Final Fantasy entry, Beyond Galaxyland immediately impresses with its pixelated graphics and soundtrack. From the dark recesses of the main planet Neo to the bright forest world of Erros, there are plenty of beautiful environments to explore and it’s fun to just jump through them. As a side-scrolling RPG, Beyond Galaxyland doesn’t quite open up, but there are plenty of hidden nooks and crannies to explore, along with additional quests that take you on all sorts of crazy adventures. The game’s side quests include everything from “The Thing” mixed with “Murder on the Orient Express” to an Arthurian sci-fi adventure.
Like the RPGs of yesteryear, Beyond Galaxyland is fairly simple in terms of gameplay. At least at first. You can explore and fight. The exploration and puzzle mechanics are simple, but fun and rewarding. Making the most of the different environments, the puzzles are unique, even if they mostly involve moving something where it should be or pressing buttons in the right order. The movement is satisfying and rhythmic, punctuated by combat.
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Both the variety of enemies and your skills are notable achievements in Beyond Galaxyland’s combat. One moment you’re battling birds of prey, the next you’re facing off against a giant humanoid pig or a spinner that comes to life. It’s all as crazy as this space adventure should be (especially considering you’re accompanied by a guinea pig forced to go through thousands of years of evolution in a matter of minutes), allowing you to plunge into the universe of Beyond Galaxyland. Like other classic RPGs, combat is turn-based, and you’ll have the option to attack, use a skill, use an item, or perform a summon in the menu. Attacking builds up skill points, and using skills costs them, but there’s a catch.
In Beyond Galaxyland, you can miss your attacks. Enemies can also miss you and you can block with a QTE to reduce the damage, but the miss on your part seems largely random. You press a button on the keyboard or controller for each attack, but there’s always a chance you’ll miss even if you time the attack perfectly. If you fail, you lose 2 skill points. When I finished my career with 13 skill points and most of the strongest skills cost 7 or more, your attacks can create a sense of randomness that feels unnecessarily punishing. Okay, so since the RNG gods decided I’d miss three attacks, I can now not use the skill I needed and risk losing the fight. It’s not tactical and doesn’t add much to the experience other than by adding items that increase your accuracy. Overall, the combat was pretty easy, despite the added randomness, but it seemed like an odd choice to me.
Beyond Galaxyland not only pays homage to RPGs of yesteryear like Final Fantasy, but it also has its own homage to Pokémon, as you can capture enemies in the game and use them later as summons, including bosses. These summons come with their own resources and can give your team major buffs, damage abilities, and penalties against the enemy. Once I started getting the most out of my summons, combat worked like a charm. It’s a good thing that combat isn’t borderline difficult considering the game is entirely based on manual saves, so if you die, there better be a save point nearby. It’s pretty generous with these save points, so you don’t have to worry about it, just make sure you save when you can.
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Now we come to what I think is Beyond Galaxyland’s greatest strength and also greatest weakness: its narrative. The beginning is intense and fast-paced, leaving you as breathless as Doug when you’re told that the entire Earth has disappeared. Some of the dialogue is a little formulaic and Doug has to remind us that he’s sad and cries a little too often, but otherwise it’s a great hook. Those slightly odd or weak character moments linger sometimes, but the universe established here keeps you going. With each new character introduction and with each new piece of story that comes your way, mountains of questions are raised. The bosses you face are incredibly memorable both visually and mechanically, and so you’re drawn into Galaxiland as the adventure progresses, following Doug on a quest to return and repair his home.
As my adventure progresses, I come to a certain boss fight. I think this could be the prelude to an action-packed third act. After all, I’m nowhere near the game’s maximum level. I’ve even been locked out of some fights because I’m not that strong. To my surprise, though, I’ve beaten the game when I defeat the boss and see a cutscene that only serves to raise more questions than it answers. Obviously, I can’t go into spoilers here, but if you play Beyond Galaxyland, I’m sure you’ll feel a similar sense of confusion when the credits roll. Nothing is answered, no definitive wins or losses are made. The story doesn’t end in a way that would set up a sequel, it feels like it just stops halfway through. I’m not sure if there’s more content planned for the story or another game, but the story just cuts off. It’s not even like there’s a hidden ending if you reach max level and do all the side content, as you’ll just start with New Game Plus or return before the final boss. It really left me baffled and unfortunately, Beyond Galaxyland couldn’t reach the heights it was capable of.
Despite a disappointing ending and some irritations in dialogue and combat, Beyond Galaxyland is an RPG that will remind you of the heady days of your first Final Fantasy mixed with a Pokémon mashup. Its world, its path, its puzzles and its soundtrack will keep you entertained throughout the adventure and I only hope we can see a new conclusion soon.
